Bakugou Katsuki knows the moment he hears Kirishima screaming at him midair that Midoriya is behind this. He takes his friend's hand because otherwise he is just in the way.. He knew it the moment he felt the ghost of All Might's grip on his forearm as he was transported to this new battlefield via black substance, and then after seeing the real leader of the villains. He was completely outclassed, but he wasn't being rescued; much less by Deku. But they know each other better by now, have fought against each other and together, so after they land they only have to share one look to start running away. Mere minutes afterwards they were watching the giant screen in downtown Yokohama, side by side, two boys watching their idol fight.

All Might looks like the shadow of a starving man, but standing firm between the villain and the civilian, he is the hero.

Everybody can see the distress in the hero's face as the villain taunts him, or appears to be, but the crowd gets anxious. What is it with that body? Was that really All Might? Bakugou gets distracted by the murmurs of the people around him and he's starting to get pissed but it takes him no less than three seconds to find Midoriya's forest green eyes staring back at his. Bakugou grits his teeth and turns back to the screen. Midoriya was thinking the same thing he was.

"BEAT HIM ALL MIGHT!"

Bakugou can't close his eyes, can't turn away, but Midoriya's presence next to him is over whelming as the green haired boy starts shaking and crying anxiously. Bakugou grits his teeth and tightens his fists as he watches the fight unfold. The other professional heroes clear the battlefield quickly, saving the fallen heroes and the civilians. It's finally just the two of them now.

And then, the hero feints. The villain goes down. Justice is served.

The sound erupting from around them is so powerful and massive he doesn't know when he began cheering either. Midoriya beside him is crying in relief, Kirishima is practically bouncing with joy, Iida seems like he had actually been there, and then, the world goes back to normal. The heroes in the streets start organizing the civilians into lines and groups to start evacuating, word gets out that the trains aren't working, the cheering dies down only a bit as it starts turning into the city's typical bustle.

After All Might raises his fist in victory; he points at the camera and says, "You're next."

Bakugou feels fire in his veins, he feels pumped up, so when he turns to see Midoriya he wants to see the fire in his eyes but the world turns upside down. Midoriya is not fired up. He'd seen him cry so many times before; heard his hurt whimpers beneath his fist, saw his stubborn crying in trembling knees, knew about the big innocent tears of disbelief that had stained his yellow kindergarten jumper. But as he stared at All Might's figure in the giant screen, Bakugou saw Midoriya cry with his heart tears of seemingly bottomless grief. Midoriya's hands wouldn't stop shaking even after they sat down, all four, in the sidewalk waiting for the evacuation cue.

Bakugou found himself uneasy.

Midoriya Izuku was more of a rival than a classmate, more of a constant in his life than a childhood friend, but every time Bakugou opened his eyes, Midoriya was there. Ever since they were three years old, maybe even before that, the green haired boy followed him around, stuck by him even when the others wouldn't, and then, after they were four, after Midoriya was deemed worthless by nature, after that day in the creek, Bakugou decided that that had to stop. Why would a weakling ask the strongest if they were fine? Midoriya was in no way in the same league as him. He had been fine. He didn't need anybody's help, much less from Midoriya. Bakugou was there to be Midoriya's hero, not the other way around.

But Midoriya never stops. No matter what insults he threw his way or how much he banged him up, Midoriya's eyes were still at his back, he was still there, in the same classroom, in the same neighborhood, in the same dream. Bakugou would close his eyes and Midoriya would still be there, at age four at age fourteen, at age fifteen, always changing, never stopping, always in his way.

Never stops writing those stupid journals, never stops putting up a fight. Breaking bones and tearing muscles to save others, to win above all costs, to make a point just to help out. He never stops confusing him with his never ending streams of "Kacchan"'s and meddling questions and his eyes. Always there, at his back, just like when they were kids. Even as he was taken by the villains, Midoriya's beat up face stared at him desperately as he disappeared in the black mist.

Bakugou hadn't been looking at Midoriya before, but now he was. Ever since the first day of classes, ever since he got seated in front of him, ever since he beat him the second day. He wondered, now, if he had been watching him properly. Like Midoriya had. Because he was the first person to read his attacks like a book, knew his quirk better than his own; Midoriya knew when he needed help, knew almost everything about him. But what did Bakugou know about Midoriya? Although he thought he knew everything there was to know about Midoriya, something slipped unnoticed between the cracks. What was going on inside of his head?

Bakugou would never admit to being worried; don't even joke. Bakugou wouldn't ever even to feelings. But his heart squeezed in his chest, his mind wandered to the green haired boy all the time, his palms giving of extra explosions when around him because damnit, sweaty palms could be a nuisance when outside of a fight, and after months of these symptoms, Bakugou knew better. He wasn't an idiot. Didn't mean anyone needed to know about it either.

Todoroki calls them a few hours later, says the police is going to pick them up because they need a statement. He had met up with his father and him and Yaoyorozu would go back to Nagano first, to check on her head injury again. He tells them the police were going to take them there too, to check on Midoriya's arms.

That makes Bakugou notice for the first time that Midoriya's arms were bare, but the stiff way he moved them spoke volumes. He looks at Midoriya for the first time since he saw him crying. Midoriya is looking down at his shaking hands, hair covering most of his face. It was the first time in a while that his gaze didn't match his. Something twisted bitterly inside of Bakugou.

It was the very early hours of the morning of the next day when the high schoolers were finally in the hospital in Nagano. Mothers were called, teachers were alerted, and statements were given to the police. Yaoyorozu and Midoriya were both admitted back into the hospital; they were cleaned and bandaged and Midoriya was put immediately to bed right after his statement. Everybody else was patched up quickly and after Bakugou had been double checked by the police and the hospital, they were finally let go.

Kirishima, Iida, and Todoroki were waiting for him in the hall, all with different levels of exhaustion on their faces. When he meets eyes with Kirishima, they both smirk. They were too manly for anything else, is what Kirishima would explain to everybody, that their bonds as men were profound and that of legend. Todoroki and Iida nodded, both with smiles and smirks of their own. Bakugou nods back because he's not a kid but immediately turns towards Midoriya's room with the quiet mutter of, "I'm gonna go see Deku."

Kirishima grins and calls out, "So, uh, we don't wait for you?"

Bakugou flicks him off and ignores the giggles his friend can't stop, even when he can hear Iida asking, "Wait, why not? I'm class president, it's my…"

When he reaches Midoriya's door, it's ajar and a soft string of light escapes it. Bakugou has his hand on the door knob when he hears someone else speaking inside, "—what Recovery Girl thinks. You can't move yet, understand? He'll come see you when he's better."

There is silence, but he knows Midoriya is nodding his head. He knows who they are talking about too.

"You have to take care of yourself more kid. You worry him sometimes. Can't imagine how your mother feels."

More silence. Bakugou needs to go inside. Now.

"Well then, I have to go…" There's some shuffling inside, scraping of papers being put away and suits being folded, "I don't think anybody is going to tell you this, but you kids did a good job."

Bakugou steps away quietly to the other side of the door where he won't be seen, and as the door opens the policeman says his goodbyes and steps out. Bakugou didn't mean to creep or anything, doesn't understand why he hid behind the open door, but as soon as the policeman turns the corner he opens the door and slips in as quickly as possible.

Midoriya is sitting on the edge of his bed, arms bandaged from his arms to his shoulders. He is looking down at his hands that won't stop shaking and doesn't feel the need to look up and greet the person that just came in. He knows those footsteps. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, but that only makes the shaking go up his arms and settle on his shoulders.

Bakugou is frozen to his place in front of the door. He didn't know what to do; in all honesty, he only knew he needed to see him. Seeing Midoriya like this, shoulders defeated, hands shaking, head lowered, it hurt him. He takes a few steps forward and greets him simply,

"Deku."

Midoriya nods absent mindedly, and that makes Bakugou feel anxious. Was this how Midoriya always felt when talking to him? He tries speaking as normally as possible, but his voice comes out in a low volume, almost soft,

"All Might won, Deku. He was beat up, but he fucking won."

Midoriya's shoulders still. Bakugou takes another step forward.

"One day that's gonna be me. I'll be the number one hero and I'll surpass him. I'll take it from his senile old hands."

He hears Midoriya gasp, sees how his shoulder start shaking again and Bakugou can't stand it anymore. He shortens the distance between them in three strides and he's right in front of him, a mere step away when he grits his teeth and just does what he feels right: he takes Midoriya's shaking hands in his.

Midoriya snaps his head upwards, unbelieving eyes filled with unshed tears. His hands are tense but Bakugou doesn't let go. He's looking at him with a worried frown, and seeing the deep grief in Midoriya's eyes make him grit his teeth. He bites out,

"Damnit, Deku, what's going on in that dumb head of yours?"

Midoriya tries to look away, but he feels caught in the headlights. He tries to speak, but it all gets stuck in his throat. He tries to gulp his feelings down, but is impossible. He hangs his head.

Bakugou is holding his hands meanwhile, gentle, calloused fingers trying their best to be welcoming and comforting. He had never comforted anybody in his life. Being a hero is about kicking ass; people needing for you to save them. Feelings made you soft; one thing was to feel sympathy for innocents, another completely different thing was to let them be liabilities. The second day of school he promised himself he would beat Deku one day; that he would save him and not the other way around. It was then that things really began to change within him. What did it mean to be a hero? To be stronger than Todoroki? To be who understood everybody the most, like Deku? What did it mean to win? Because being first place in the Sports Festival was not what he had wanted.

So he turned his eyes to Midoriya. But now he was shaking and crying, no set shoulders, no dead-set resolve in his eyes. Bakugou gathers his courage, closes the distance, and keeps Midoriya's broken hands in his, massaging every scar, callous and odd joint, feeling up all his hard work, consoling every body-wrecking effort; he starts, "Deku-"

But Midoriya looks up abruptly again, eyes filled with grief, tear tracks down his freckled cheeks, lips trembling, and interrupts him, "I can't stop... Kacchan... Please."

Tears are building up again in the corners of his eyes and he hangs his head in shame, his shoulders shake as whispers, "Make it stop…"

Bakugou's body moved on its own.

He lets go of his hands to hold his shoulders where they grip a bit roughly. Midoriya looks up at Bakugou, thinking the worst, when his childhood friend comes crashing down upon his face.

Bakugou kisses like he fights, and Midoriya wouldn't have wanted it any different. It is rough and fast, domineering. Midoriya allows him every under handed move, every sharp response, lips lock, tongues tackle; even then they are competing and Midoriya's hands now hold Bakugou's shoulder tight, gaining high ground. Bakugou is two steps ahead as always, though, and has pushed Midoriya on his back. He followed him clumsily, kissing his jaw, his neck, the hollow of it, his clavicle and then Midoriya gasps, because the sensory overload is new and the tears stop for a moment as everything he's feeling starts to pool into the deepest part of himself. Bakugou clambers over the bed, simultaneously taking off his shoes and digging his eyes into Midoriya's own.

There is a quiet moment when they stare at the face opposite to theirs, two boys still growing, two boys still clumsy, and new to any of this. Two boys with burning, feverish dreams underneath their skins.

I want to save you.

I don't want to lose (to) you.

Midoriya raises both his arms and with both hands holds Bakugoues face, as softly as he can, thumbs brushing his cheekbones slow and careful. He offers a broken, tear-stained smile. His voice is scratchy and filled with so many emotions that they all bubble out of his mouth when he speaks,

"Kacchan.. Don't stop."

Bakugou frowns, but there are no sharp edges to his lips, to his eyes, nor to his words when he dips down to press his forehead to Midoriya's. He exhales soflty,

"I won't, Izuku."

Midoriya nods his head and closes his eyes as those soft words open up his chest and carve open his heart. The tears don't stop. How dare he? How dare he? Midoriya thinks as Bakugou presses his lips against his and begins to eat up all of his feelings, replacing them with others. Their hands began to wander and Bakugou interrupts their kissing to take off his shirt and throwing it to the side of the bed. He looks down at Midoriya from his high place, and Midoriya is so absorbed in the strength of his stare that he barely notices Bakugou at the hem of his own shirt and pulling upwards. Midoriya lets him undress him and pile their clothes on the floor.

When Bakugou looks at him again, Midoriya feels like he's at the top of a volcano, and his body, damn treacherous body, begins to move. His hands are at Bakugou's chest then his abdomen and Bakugou takes Midoriya by the waist and pulls, sits him up as Bakugou straddles him. The noise that Bakugou makes, as the friction grows between their pants, startles Midoriya out of his tear blurred vision because Bakugou's face is everything he wants to see right now.

Midoriya's hands are exploring the expanse of Bakugou's back, Bakugou is learning the depths of Midoriya's mouth. Midoriya's hands finally go south when Bakugou dips, just a bit to kiss Midoriya's jaw line and down his neck, so Midoriya goes lower and lower until he has Bakugou's ass in both hands and he marvels that he can. He holds them firmly, squeezing, then holding down so there are grinding once again. Bakugou groans into the hollow of his neck and Midoriya feels a moan tumble out between his lips. He notices that breathing is hard, that the fever beneath their skin is too much, too much, too much, and the way their crotches grind tells him how much he has held this in.

Bakugou hungrily takes from his lips to his neck, and trembles with ever noise Midoriya makes. Every scar and mark, dip and curve, he kisses and marks himself, just to hear Midoriya gasp. Because even then, Midoriya was still tearing up, big, salty tears trailed down his freckled cheeks, and Bakugou kisses every tear, all the way up to the sides of his round eyes, and whispers, "Izuku, I'm right here. Look at me, only me. I'm right here."

And Midoriya searches for his lips, to kiss them shut, to stop Bakugou from saying such sweet things, and Bakugou escapes him for only a moment before taking his lips again.

Midoriya whimpers, feeling tight and uncomfortable in his pants. He can feel Bakugou's fingernails digging into his shoulders, the bulge in his pants hard against his own. He lets his hands undo their buttons and zippers and feverishly takes both their leaking messes out. Bakugou gasps as he feels his erection out and bobbing with Midoriya's. Midoriya takes both of them in one hand and squeezes at the top, feels the pleasure rising, the pressure bubbling, and once he hears Bakugou moan against his shoulder, Midoriya continues, pumping and squeezing, rubbing together, grinding against each other, moaning against each other's lips as they meet again and again to kiss. Bakugou makes Midoriya hold his, and he holds Midoriya's and they both close their eyes shut as the feverish dreams beneath their skins are bubbling, popping, exploding, wanting out, wanting more. When they come into each other's hands, they moan into each other's ears, they cross into each other's skin and the shaking in Midoriya's hands stop.

For an entire minute only their panting lingers between them, trying to catch their breaths, trying to make sense of whatever just went on. Pleasure is still tingling everywhere, in every corner of their souls, like shooting stars over their skin, butterflies in the pit of their stomachs. But when both look down to their deflating ego, the mess they made, hands at their sides, they understand one fundamental thing: nothing is better, nothing is fixed. But when they look up again, look into their eyes, red against green, like it always has been, they rest easy knowing that it doesn't matter, because now they're together.

Midoriya's eyes close as he cries soft, quiet, gentle tears that can't stay in anymore. Bakugou holds him as he starts crying again, but this time it's different. It's just soft; the last stream flowing out of the broken dam. He doesn't feel uneasy now, just soft.

Midoriya holds him tight, bandaged arms encircling Bakugou's waist.

"I'm never going to be able to stop you, am I?" Bakugou whispers against Midoriya's neck.

Midoriya tuts and Bakugou can feel his smile on his shoulder. Midoriya whispers, "Quitting isn't like you, Kacchan."

Bakugou scoffs and holds him at arm's length, "Who said I was quitting?"

Bakugou's frown was one full of promise and fear and indignation. Midoriya smiles through fresh tears and said, "Not me. You'll never lose either."

Bakugou feels his heart breaking a bit and he brings Midoriya against his chest. "I'm gonna surpass All Might, damnit. And you and Todoroki and everybody will have to look at me from now on. I will be the best. I will never lose, Deku."

Amongst the tears, he feels Midoriya's lips turning into another smile. Bakugou sighs relieved. Midoriya whispers against Bakugou's shoulder, "I'm the only one who's ever gonna beat you, Kacchan," Bakugou snorts, but he continues, "Then you'll have to accept me as an equal."

Bakugou holds them apart again slowly and looks Midoriya straight in the eye.

"We'll never be equals, fool."

Midoriya sighs, resigned, but Bakugou leans in close and whispers against his lips, "But that's just fine," he kisses him softly, "We'll have plenty of time to see who's best."

Midoriya smiles, bigger and brighter, and a small chuckle bursts from his lips. Bakugou holds him even tighter, kisses him hotter, and when they part they laugh. They can't help it, as if they had been holding it in all this time; all this promise, all this warmth.

Bakugou gets clean and dressed quickly; Midoriya is still smiling when he turns to leave.

"Do I look like I just got laid? Or should I mess up my hair a little more?"

Both shake with laughter for a bit. Midoriya shakes his head and Bakugou's laugh is more of a sneer, but Midoriya isn't crying anymore. Bakugou kisses him once more, briefly, before saying, "I have to go."

Midoriya nods his head and sighs the sigh of the century. It carries his sorrows and yearnings, and worries and tensions and it ends with a cautious smile.

Don't go.

Thank you.

He takes Bakugou's right hand and squeezes it tight as he says, "Have a safe trip."

Bakugou has learned to admire his conviction and strength, even before all of this. He squeezes back.

"See ya later, nerd."

I'm never going to lose.

I love you.

This is an edit from the original I posted a few days ago in AO3. Hope you enjoy. (: The final chapter is in Midoriya's POV, although form another event. It should be ready by this weekend (hopefully!).